Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Choose Me
SERIES: Love in the Pacific Northwest
AUTHOR: Beck Grey
NARRATOR: Gary Furlong
PUBLISHER: Pine & Moon LLC
LENGTH: 7 hours and 26 minutes
RELEASE DATE: September 11, 2023
BLURB:
Jules:
I’ve been in love with my brother’s best friend since I was 12, and 20 years later, Erik Osouf is still so far out of my league, we aren’t even playing the same sport. Not that I play sports. That means talking to people, and my social anxiety makes that all but impossible.
It also makes my brother incredibly overprotective, and while I love that Stef always has my back, it’s why I still can’t tell Erik how I feel. It would wreck their friendship, and after everything Stef’s done for me, I won’t ever be the cause of that. I just wish my heart would get that memo.
Erik:
For years I thought of Jules Evans as the quiet, sweet kid who regularly crushed me at Mario Kart and let fireflies loose in our camping tent. Then he accidentally admits he’s in love with me. He doesn’t remember saying anything, and I’d never embarrass him by mentioning it, but since then I can’t stop thinking about kissing him.
If it was anyone else, I’d probably have told them how I feel by now. But he’s my best friend’s younger brother. The same best friend who told me Jules is off-limits. That makes this all kinds of impossible. Unless I can convince them both I’m the right man for Jules.
Choose Me is a 70,000 word low angst, brother’s best friend, contemporary MM romance about flawed but devoted families, taking chances, and sweet cinnamon roll Vikings. It contains no cheating and a guaranteed HEA.
REVIEW:
Note: This is the third book in this series and the timeline overlaps with the 2nd book – so there are some minor spoilers. This can be read as a standalone though.
Jules has dealt with his anxiety and has a job he loves and family and friends who support him. He’s been in love with Erik, his brother Stef’s best friend forever. He confesses this to Erik the night of Erik’s college graduation. But Stef, being overprotective, has told Erik that Jules is off limits. Erik moves to Arizona and that’s the end of that. After nearly 15 years though, Erik is coming back to Seattle. And he’s really happy to be see see Jules again. He’s never forgotten that confession and he’s really interested in this grownup Jules.
Jules has other stuff to deal with – a change in his job, anxiety about his brother’s overprotectiveness, the potential of his roommate moving out. He and Erik spend time together though and it’s time to figure out what they both want – not what everyone else wants. Erik shows up for Jules. Jules is anxious though because he’s never been with anyone. He’s never been kisses, never been on a date, etc. He’s embarrassed and feels like he’s broken.
Erik has his own issues though. His family has dealt with significant loss. There is a lot of anger and dysfunction and Erik’s way of dealing with it was to leave. His brothers Bjorn and Gunnar in particular have knockdown drag outs. Repeatedly. His sister Astrid tries to intervene, but things are still confrontational. He can’t deal with them and so he was fine in Arizona. But when he’s back these situations come up again and Erik is particularly upset when they begin to affect Jules. With Erik’s return to Seattle, they are going to pursue this relationship – despite what else is going on with their families 😉
This is such a well written story! The care and sensitivity with which both Jules and Erik’s anxiety are portrayed is one of the best I’ve read. Jules is such a sweetheart. Erik is just the best most lovely and considerate guy. He’s so solicitous and considerate of Jules and his anxiety and what will make him most comfortable. He doesn’t always get it right and he tries so hard to learn from his mistakes. Jules for his part loves Erik and does his best to stick up for Erik too 😉 The are fire together. Consent and care are the most important things between them. Of course dealing with their families causes some stress, but they are both learning how to deal with them. Together.
Gary Furlong is a rockstar narrator. This performance is so lovely. Jules anxiety and difficulty dealing with change and his triggers is beautifully done. We feel Erik and Jules’ pain and fear. We also feel their intense attraction and their fear of making the wrong move/saying the wrong thing. There are a number of characters here and they are all distinct and spot on. I never get tired of listening to his audios. This is another brilliant marriage of author and narrator. Highly recommended. A beautiful love story well acted 🙂
RATING: 
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